Demotivation
by Mephlocke
Summary: In order to get Carl more popular, Porter signs Carl up for the triathlon. To help motivate Carl, Denise beams in some friends to help.  Romance between Carl and Denise, btw
1. Chapter 1

De-motivation, a Wingin' it fanfic

Chapter one, TAB triathlon

The bell rang at Bennet high, classes were starting and that was never a good think. Carl Montclaire, the most un-popular guy in the school, walked slowly to his lessons with his friend and fake cousin, angel Porter Jackson.

"So... Denise is definitely sure she saw fireworks?" Porter asked his friend

"Yeah..." Carl groaned "That is NOT something I was expecting..."

"Well you always expect the worst, maybe you should start expecting the good." Porter smiled, folding his arms and leaning against the wall as he spoke

"Ok... the good for me is... well I'm not sure yet. See that's why I never expect the good, 'cause I can never imagine anything good happening to me!" Carl shot back

"Yeah... guess when you've got an AIT like me around... thing get better right?" Porter asked. Carl looked at him to see if he was joking. It was clear that he wasn't.

"Umm... truthfully..." Carl was cut off by Serge crashing into his back.

"Hey watch where you stand Montclaire, the future triathlon champion is in the corridors!" Serge grinned, nodding his head at the poster on the wall

"Oh yeah... the triathlon... well, hope you don't lose to Terendale. Again." Carl smiled and Porter laughed. Serge just grunted and walked off down the corridors.

"Wait, Carl! The triathlon! They still need one more competitor! If you sign up and win... you could be well on your way to getting popular!" Porter suggested, seeming quite happy with his suggestion.

"Yeah... if I could run, swim or cycle I would compete. Shame that I can't." Carl shrugged and walked into science class, while Porter walked off to find the triathlon sign up sheet...

Carl sat, writing down the science questions on the blackboard. This lesson was going very slowly. The speaker on the wall suddenly screeched loudly and everyone covered there ears to block out the sound. Apart from the Listern sisters who seemed to quite enjoy the sound.

"Attention" It was Principal Malone speaking, everyone could tell by the sound of a ukulele being strummed in the background. "A big thank you to Carl Montclaire for signing up to take part as the last athlete in the triathlon, give him a big hand!" Everyone clapped including Mr. Dolby, who dropped his chalk as he clapped. Leaning down to pick it up, he over balanced and fell over. Everyone stopped clapping and started laughing at their teachers expense. Except for Carl, who just turned round and looked at Porter, who had only recently turned up in the classroom. Carl gritted his teeth and mouthed something at Porter, Porter just shrugged and kept laughing. There was a knock on the science classroom door. Mr. Dolby placed his head up on the desk

"Come in!" He called out and in walked Dr. Cassabi, the "guidance counsellor" for Bennet High.

"Mr. Dolby, may I inquire as to why only your head is in view?" Cassabi inquired

"Umm..." Dolby grinned, standing up to his full height, picking his chalk up off the floor "It's a science... greeting! Yes, that's it, it's how we greet... all our visitors!" All the class chuckled at the teacher's lousy improvisation.

"Anyway, I would like to borrow Carl Montclaire for a moment please." The guidance counsellor finished and Carl followed him out of the classroom.

"Is this about Denise? I know it's not allowed it's just..." Carl started but Cassabi cut him off.

"Actually no, it's about something else. I'll explain when we get to my office." Cassabi smiled and the two continued to walk down the corridor. They soon arrived in Cassabi's office and Carl couldn't believe what he saw.

In Cassabi's office, was a band. All of them stood with their arms folded and their instruments at their feet. The first one, who looked to be the singer, had long black hair and a small goatee. His black T-Shirt read TAB on it and had a picture of a skull and crossbones underneath. He wore ripped blue jeans, that were very odd against his black shirt. He was lanky, and looked like he hadn't ever heard of a haircut, as his hair was halfway down his back. The second, who looked to be a guitarist, had a strange Mohawk, completely coloured red. He had a short black moustache and wore a blue T-Shirt with "High five homies" written on it. He wore brown trousers, cut off about an inch at the end. The third, another guitarist, had an afro. He wore large sunglasses that covered up his eyebrows and his eyes completely. He wore a T-shirt with a picture of a grey and green coloured cube on it. He wore trousers that were neither too small nor too big. They were just average sized. And that last was the strangest of all. He sat on the seat behind his large drum kit. He had short blue and black hair, and a stupid beard that didn't quite meet with his moustache. He had a daft T-shirt with pictures of game consoles all over it. He wore shorts that didn't suit him at all and a bandana was wrapped round his neck.

"We are TAB." The singer said "You must be Montclaire. I'm Meph."

"I'm Gigz." The first guitarist spoke

"MC Rubix." The other guitarist spoke

"And I'm Skully." The drummer grinned.

"Sounds like you need motivation..." Meph smiled and picked up his mic from the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

De-motivation, a Wingin' it fanfic

Chapter 2, My doing

"You're a band?" Carl demanded, looking a bit perplexed at the turn of events. One minute he was angry at Porter in science class, the next he was seeing an odd band in Cassabi's office.

"Yeah, we're TAB, we've said." Rubix grinned, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"I mean... why are you here?" Carl asked

"We're a motivational band, and that's not all..." Meph grinned, and the band started to high five each other... and after 2 minutes they had finished high fiving and wings and halos were in view. "TAB, that angel band..." Meph finished and the band went back to their usual posture, arms folded and grinning cheesily.

"Well, Carl? A good idea wasn't it?" Cassabi patted Carl on the back and smiled

"Let me guess..." Carl smiled "This was Porter's idea?" There was a ding sound behind him

"No Carl..." It was a girl's voice "It was mine..." Carl turned round and saw Denise standing behind him, smiling. Carl smiled at the AIT. Things had been a bit different between the two of them recently.

"Hey Denise, thanks for umm... these guys..." Carl grinned and indicated the smug angels.

"Yeah, they're old friends of mine. They taught me few things about singing." Denise walked across the room and stood in front of Meph.

"Hey, girl. You may be our friend and all... but you're sort of cramping our image."

"TAB, I think it's time you left... I need to have some words with these two alone." Cassabi looked concerned at the two students.

"Whatever, doc. We have somewhere to be anyways." Gigz informed the angel and the band performed rock star hands. They beamed away in a flash of light.

"Now... Carl, Denise. Porter told me everything. Nothing like this has ever happened before and for good reason. Once an angel's assignment is finished the angel has to leave earth. The human may never get to see their loved one ever again!" Cassabi informed the two "That could be heartbreaking for a human!" He finished and sat down in his office chair

"Hmm... assignment, right?" Denise smiled "I seem to remember I don't have one of those, Dr. C." Carl laughed at the AIT. Cassabi sat forward in his chair.

"This is no laughing matter Carl. But... as of yet, Denise is right. She has no assignment so. Look just go, Carl you have science to get on with. Denise, I'd like to discuss something with you if that's ok?"

"Sure, why not? See ya, Carl." Denise said, agreeably and sat down in the chair opposite Cassabi's desk. Carl walked out of the door and began to walk back down the corridors to science...

"Hey, Carl!" Alex shouted to his friend in the lunch area at... lunch "I saw your new friends. Are they unicorn enthusiasts? They look like they are! If so, I bet they could give me some great advice about my History assignment!" Alex grinned, and looked expectantly at Carl and Porter

"Alex... you're writing a history assignment... about unicorns?" Porter asked

"Yeah. Research, by trained scientists, has proved that throughout history there have been many sighting of unicorns! Amazing, right?" Alex said, loudly, waiting for his friend's answers

"When was this, the stone age?" Carl joked

"How'd you know!" Alex looked shocked. Porter and Carl laughed as Alex began to walk away.

"So, Denise got you introduced to TAB?" Porter asked, beginning to eat his sandwich

"Yeah, they seem... odd, for angel's I mean." Carl looked confused

"Yeah. No-one really gets along with them very well. They're really too smug to be angel's, they got popular upstairs though. People liked their songs, for what reason... I dunno." Porter informed his friend

"Well that explains some of it... but mind you, I seem to get landed with the odd angel's a lot." Carl laughed and Porter shook his head in amusement. "Porter, why did you sign me up for the triathlon?" Carl asked

"I already explained why. It could help me get well on my way to getting my angel wings. And if you're worried about it, relax, you've got angel magic on your side." Porter smiled. The bell rang once again, and classes were resumed.

"And that's my evidence that unicorn's aren't just mythical!" Alex took a bow as no-one clapped. Mr. Telson's eye twitched violently at Alex.

"This was a research assignment, and you've clearly researched so... B+..." Telson sat back down. "Next... Carl Montclaire." Carl looked at Porter and started whispering to him

"Porter... I forgot about the history assignment! What am I supposed to do a presentation on if I don't have anything to present?"

"Relax, Carl. I've got you covered..." Porter nodded and Carl stood up and walked to the front of the class. A confident smile on his face.

"Mr. Telson. Classmates." Carl started speaking, not sounding at all like himself "Let me give you some information about the ancient Greeks." 35 minutes later Carl had finished acting out the film 300.

"Very... interesting presentation, Mr. Montclaire... A-..."

"Wow... thanks for the assist Porter..." Carl thanked his friend

"No problem Carl, now... you pretty much took up the whole of the class. I think we'd better get ready to leave..." The bell rang, the class left and Carl bumped into TAB in the halls.

"Yo yo..." Skully grinned at Carl, tapping his hand on his knee. Apparently he couldn't go 30 seconds without drumming.

"Hey... Skully right?" Carl greeted

"Yeah, get meh name right, ya get on meh good side!" Skully looked happy that Carl remembered his name

"Ignore the drummer, talk to the singer." Meph butted in "So... Triathlon's coming up in about... Gigz, watch!" Gigz flashed a watch in Meph's face "OK. Down." Meph stated, simply and Gigz lowered his arm. "In about 3 hours." Meph finished

"And?" Porter asked the angels

"Oh... if it isn't Porter Jackson, AIT mess up..." Rubix laughed. The other band member followed suit.

"Hey. That's my friend you're talking about!" Carl started to get angry and the band quickly rephrased themselves

"The AIT... magical wiz kid!" Rubix corrected and TAB nodded. Denise beamed in front of the band and came and stood next to Carl.

"Kid, get everyone in the school hall, pronto! We're gonna give you a great motivational song to... motivate you!" Skully grinned and the band all beamed away quickly.

"How am I supposed to..." Carl shouted after the teleporting band

"Don't worry. Get Jane and Alex to help too. With all of us helping you out... we should be able to get everyone in there." Denise smiled at Carl, she clicked her fingers and beamed away again.

"She didn't need to be here" Porter smiled "Unless it's because you're he-"

"Porter, go and ask Principal Malone to make an announcement about this. I'll go get Jane and Alex." Porter grinned, as he saw Carl walk of to get Jane and Alex. He knew that Denise and Carl weren't just friends. That was clear from the fireworks... he nodded his head and beamed to Malone's office.


	3. Chapter 3

De-motivation

Chapter 3, Sing along Bennet

"I once had a ukulele..." were the words that greeted Porter as he entered Principal Malone's office. As soon as he saw the student, Malone put his ukulele down

"Ah, Mr. Jackson. What can I do for you today?" Principal Malone asked

"Well... I was hoping you could make an announcement for me sir. You see... it's about the triathlon. Dr. Cassabi's got this BIG thing planned in the school hall, see. It's to help motivate the athlete's..." Porter told the principal. Technically, this was the truth although it was Denise, not Cassabi... oh well, they were both angel's after all.

"Oh. Alright, I'll see what I can do Porter." Malone agreed and Porter walked out of the office.

"Well? How'd it go?" Carl asked. Jane, Alex, Denise and Carl all stood outside the principal's door.

"Well. Malone's gonna give the announcement. It should get everyone you haven't already got in there... in there." Porter informed the group

"Great. This plan is one of your best, Carl, good job." Jane smiled and walked off down the hallway. Carl watched her walk away and sighed. They were just friends, he thought.

"I've gotta go get some gobsmack from my locker. They're hosting another contest!" Alex smiled, broadly and ran off to his locker.

"Still like Jane then, eh?" Denise smiled, walking up to beside Carl

"Maybe, though it's never gonna happen is it?" Carl sighed. Denise gave Carl a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Never mind, Carl. You'd better get to the hall, you're an athlete after all." Carl looked at the AIT as she beamed to away. Porter chuckled.

"Nothing going on between you two, huh?" Porter nodded and beamed away too. Carl started to walk slowly to the hall, thinking about what he was going to see when he got there...

The hall was crowded with every student from Bennet High gathering round the stage. Carl walked into the hall and took a seat in between Porter and Denise. Meph stepped forward, grabbing his mic and brushing his hair out of his eyes. Everyone in the hall clapped as they noticed the instruments the people on stage were carrying.

"Thank you! Thank you, so much! Everyone! We our TAB, That Angel Band, which has nothing to do with the fact that we are angels!" Meph shouted to his crowd, and Cassabi faced palmed at the incompetence of the young angel. The band were all in their twenties in angel years.

"We're the new generation!" Is what Gigz would say. Cassabi laughed at himself. He was sitting behind Carl in the seats. All teachers sat at the back for some reason.

"Now... IT'S MOTIVATION TIME!" TAB roared at the school and the music started. Gigz and Rubix strummed their guitars while Skully played sweet beats on his drums.

"How good are this band?" Carl asked Denise. Cassabi stuck his head in between the two

"Pretty awful if I'm honest..." Cassabi groaned

"Don't listen to him. Just listen and learn Carl, I've known them for 200 years, just trust me..." Denise smiled and starting to groove around in her seat.

"Let's give it one more shot. Let's give it everything we've got. 'Cause this is where we fall. And this is where we get back up..." Meph started singing. Bennet high cheered and clapped at the four and they seemed to start getting motivated themselves

"'Cause if we get it right! We will surely, conquer the world!" Meph roared and there was a shout from the other band members

"Hey!" They yelled

"I'm giving wings to an angel! Now I'm Wingin' it all the time! I'm giving wings to an angel! Now we've got room to fly!" Porter was head banging to the music and Jane was raising her fist in the air at every passing beat.

"How'd we get this far." Meph sang again

"Far..." the other three sang, along with all the students

"And how'd we ever mess this up. Forever in the air." Meph was grooving about, grabbing his mic stand and chucking it to the back of the stage

"Air." The other three yelled and the students chimed in again

"We get through when times get tough." Meph started singing the chorus once more

"'Cause if we get it right... we will surely conquer the world!"

"Hey!" Sang Bennet

"I'm giving wings to an angel! Now I'm Wingin' it all the time. I'm giving wings to an angel! Say it Bennet!" Meph roared

"Giving wings to an angel!" Bennet cried

"Now we've got room to fly!" Meph finished and the band finished the song with a jump.

"Hey!" Shouted the band and the school. The cheers and whoops were so loud the band couldn't even be heard.

"Oh brother..." Cassabi groaned and slumped back in his chair.

"ENCORE!" Yelled Bennet

"What..." Cassabi was struggling to understand how they could want an encore from these guys.

"OK, don't rush us guys... thinking of a song here..." The band discussed songs between each other.

"Carl, I'm just gonna... see if I can "help"" Denise smiled, rose out of her seat and walked up to the stage. Cassabi beamed Denise back again. "Dr. C? That was another chance for a big break!"

"Not after Beethoven, I'm not going through that again Denise... I still get mocked upstairs for that..." Cassabi looked sorry for himself and began shaking his head.

"Denise, let the band play. You'll get another chance." Carl smiled at her

"When it comes from you... alright, but I won't stop mocking you doc." Denise grinned as the band started playing again.

"I can't take any more of this..." Cassabi mumbled and in a flash of light he was gone.

After their next song, TAB raised their hands in the air and shouted to the audience

"We've been TAB, you've been an epic audience!" Meph shouted "Give yourself a big hand... actually don't, just keep applauding the legends here!" Meph grinned and the audience applauded again. "A big shout out to Carl Montclaire and Denise Simmons, organisers extraordinaire!"

"Think it's time we left, M." Gigz put in

"To right. High fives all round guys, great performance..." The band all high fived and on stage... was no-one.

"Where'd TAB go?" Jane wondered "I wanted to interview them... it would make a great story, don't you think Serge?" Jane asked the jock.

"Oh... umm... yeah. Who were those people again?" Serge asked and Jane groaned. It was like asking a brick wall what the weather was. Serge may have a lot off muscle on his body but in his head... not so much, Jane thought and laughed.

"I've have got to text my friends about how awesome that was!" Brittany seemed awestruck, she pulled out her phone and began to text her friends rapidly

"Brittany... all your friends just saw it..." Porter said to the blonde

"So? They've still gotta know, right?" Brittany asked, wholeheartedly. Porter sighed as the school began to exit thee hall, singing as they went...

"Wow, Denise, they were great." Carl said to the brunette as they left the hall

"Yeah, but once you here them over and over again upstairs, wearing Goth clothes against white everything... you sought of get tired of them..." Denise smiled and Carl

"Well, as I've never heard them before I guess... thank you... for organising them and everything." Carl looked down at the floor.

"That song. I wrote it, I thought it was quite fitting to you..." Denise admitted and Carl kissed her. The kiss was interrupted by the rest of the school filing out the hall. Carl began to walk down the corridor, as when the people had cleared the AIT was nowhere to be seen...


	4. Chapter 4

De-motivation

Chapter 4, Drop out

Dr. Cassabi was twiddling his thumbs in his office. TAB should've finished their performance by now, he thought. A loud guitar sound echoed down the hallways and TAB marched in, carrying Skully and his drum kit.

"Doc, great news man." Rubix grinned and all the rest of the band looked cheerful too

"You're leaving?" Cassabi asked

"You can be funny when you wanna be, can't you?" Skully laughed from atop his drum kit. Dr. Cassabi put on a fake smile.

"Oh... yeah... of course I was joking, give me a break, guys... I mean..." Cassabi's laugh was very unconvincing, although TAB fell for it

"Yeah, so, we went and spoke to the man in charge of this joint and he said... we could run in the triathlon." Cassabi looked shocked, only three competitors were allowed in the triathlon. How did the four band members get in

"How did you manage to swing that?" Cassabi sat up straight and looked Meph in the eye. Meph was too busy looking in his hand mirror and getting his hair sorted out, so Gigz spoke for him.

"Well... Malone said that a mascot is aloud to run as well. Starting today, TAB is Bennet High's mascot." Gigz grinned as Meph tucked the mirror pack into his jean pocket.

"Gonna be front headline new of the Newshound. We asked Malone if the "organiser" would like to give a few words..." Meph chuckled and the band members all pointed at Cassabi

"That's you if you remember, doc..." Skully smiled, but his smile was shot lived as he fell of his bass drum and hit his head on Cassabi's floor. "That... floor... is... quite hard... isn't... it..." Skully mumbled from the floor. TAB and Cassabi shook their heads at the drummer, before TAB walked out of the office, singing all the way. Cassabi shook his head. This wasn't a good thing...

Porter and Carl continued to walk through the hallways, Porter humming as they went.

"Still can't get that song outta your head, right?" Carl chuckled

"As it happens... yeah..." Porter answered

"Well, everyone's been humming or singing all day. TAB really know how to sing don't they?" Carl looked pleased at the angel band's performance, but Porter shook his head

"Trust me Carl, they're up to something... they never just wanna be nice..." Porter looked concerned, but TAB barged past the two of them, Serge following along behind them

"Outta the way, Montclaire. I'm gonna give these guys a pep talk before the triathlon." Serge looked overconfident and Carl and Porter just stood there. How did TAB manage to get into the triathlon? TAB looked annoyingly happy, as they continued to walk down the hallways. Cassabi beamed in between Carl and Porter and shook his head.

"I knew those 4 were up to something! How did I believe that they were just here to be nice?" Cassabi looked annoyed at himself

"Maybe because it was Denise who told you they were coming? Surely if they had told you, you wouldn't have believed them?" Porter suggested. Carl seemed to get annoyed at this comment

"Porter, it's not Denise's fault. Don't try and pin it on her!" Cassabi and Porter both raised an eyebrow and Carl stopped. "I mean, uh... it's your business so... yeah... you know TAB, uh... better than I do, so..." both the angel's laughed at the cover up, then remembered what was going on.

"Wait, Dr Cassabi, how'd they even manage to get on the triathlon? Each school is only allowed 3 competitors... with all of them included that's 7. We'd be disqualified long before we even started, so how's they?" Porter asked his supervisor

"Well, the thing is Porter, TAB is now Bennet High's new mascot. Apparently Principal Malone allowed it... and..." Porter interjected.

"And mascots are allowed to run in the triathlon... that's brilliant!" Carl and Cassabi stared at him "Well... brilliant but bad, yeah, very... bad..."

"Yeah, it puts your plan into perspective Porter. How am I supposed to compete against four graduate angels? With magic?" Carl's question made sense, and Porter didn't appear to have an answer.

"Porter, you were planning on cheating?" Cassabi looked irritated

"Come on. It was only to get closer to getting my angel wings... can you blame me for that?" Porter looked hurt

"Either way, Porter, cheating is against angel policy. Remember that. Anyway, I'm gonna try and delay TAB a little. Who knows what they plan on doing to Serge?" Cassabi said and Carl looked confused

"Why would they want to do anything to Serge?" Carl finally asked

"I think they're here to ruin Bennet's chances in the triathlon. I mean... that's probably up there in their most fun things list." Cassabi beamed away quickly and Carl and Porter exchanged glances. This was very bad indeed...

TAB charged down the hallways behind Serge, quickly reaching the gymnasium. Cassabi had followed them all the way down. He had managed to cut ahead of them when Jane tried to interview them about their performance. It was lucky she had been there, otherwise Cassabi might of never made it there in time to stop them. He stood, his arms folded, waiting for the band and the jock. They finally barged through the door, laughing at something that probably wasn't funny. Cassabi gave TAB an angry stare. Serge looked confused.

"Dr. Cassabi, what are you doing in here, Serge's never seen you doing sport's before..."

"Oh... umm, Serge, mind if you leave... me and those guys there... we need to have a chat... about... singing... yeah... that's it." Cassabi badly improvised. Serge appeared to understand.

"Oh, OK, Dr. Cassabi. Serge understands, I'll just be outside if you need anything... a basketball move, help with your tennis swing... whatever..." Serge nodded and Cassabi and TAB groaned as he left the gym.

"No, TAB, what are you up, I wanna know now. This isn't funny anymore!" Cassabi looked annoyed and TAB just grinned broadly.

"Look, Doc, this is just something we have to do, yeah. TAB, is here to win, get me?" Rubix smiled and Gigz nodded.

"Yeah, come on, C. This is where TAB gets in with the crowd. Get meh? This could be our big break! I could get in with some girl, yeah?" Skully looked upbeat and Cassabi shook his head.

"And how exactly were you planning on winning the triathlon?" Cassabi asked the band and they all shrugged

"Magic, duh we're angel's after all, right, Doc?" Meph looked confused. Why didn't Cassabi guess that?

"Guys, you can't use your magic like that! Remember what I taught you back when you were AIT's?" Cassabi reminded the band. Gigz sighed and rolled his eyes, Rubix answered his old supervisor

"Yeah, yeah, Doc. Magic isn't something you can just over use. You have to use it in order to get your angel wings... but see, we've got our wings so... why can't we just use our magic all the time?" Rubix finished and Cassabi looked angry

"Just because you have your angel wings doesn't mean you can go around using your magic all the time. You still have rules you need to stick by, you realise!" Cassabi fumed and TAB started to high five each other. Cassabi started to back away.

"Guys... what... are you..." Cassabi lay knocked out on the ground as TAB walked out of the gym...

Carl and Porter walked through the hallways, worrying about TAB.

"Surely they can't mind control Serge. I thought you said it was against angel policy..." Carl shook his head and Porter shrugged

"Yeah... but you know, they could do something else. Dr. Cassabi has everything under control." Porter looked calm and Denise beamed next to Carl.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that... guys, just get over to the gym... Cassabi's been hit by angel magic. Badly. It knocked him out for a while, but he should be OK..." Denise looked worried and Porter nodded his head quickly. Carl and the two AIT's stood in the gym with the guidance counsellor. He had a bandage on his head and was rubbing it furiously.

"How are you Dr. C?" Denise asked, walking over and standing next to him

"Yeah, I'm OK... TAB were up to something. I should've seen it coming."

"I'm such an idiot. Why did I ever let them come down here? They always try something whenever they're around..." Denise looked upset and Carl walked over to her and hugged her. Denise smiled and Cassabi nodded his head.

"Ok guys, we need to stop TAB, whatever it takes. Got it?" Cassabi asked the three students. Porter folded his arms and grinned, Denise smiled and Carl brushed his hair to slightly to the left.

"Yeah, we're gonna stop those guys. Whatever it takes!" Porter smiled

"It's not gonna hurt much is it? Pain isn't something I'm good with..." Carl looked worried and Denise shook her head.

"You may be cute but you can be so thick sometimes..." Denise smiled and Carl grinned.

"Joking... I'm ready." He smiled. This time they were ready. Ready to a motivational band that had only succeeded in de-motivating everyone. Just a regular day at Bennet High...


	5. Chapter 5

De-motivation

Chapter 5, Taking care of TAB part 1

"Guys, remember, TAB are strong angels. Me and Denise are just AIT's and Carl... you don't have any magic. We need to be a lot more careful than usual..." Porter looked concerned and Carl smiled at him

"Since when did Porter Jackson get nervous, come on chin up man. We can stop them, no matter what remember?" Carl encouraged his friend and Porter grinned.

"Yeah, come on, PJ. We can deal with these guys. I'm their best friend, I know them well... all of them have a weakness. But we'll have to take them one at a time. It's the only way..." Denise looked at Carl and Porter. The boys nodded, appearing to understand.

"OK, we'll start with Skully. He's usually chatting up some girl he hardly knows..." Carl suggested.

"Ok... I'll go over... start a conversation. He's been chatting me up for a while, it's been getting quite annoying really..." Denise planned and Carl shook his head

"Skully fancies you?" Carl was still surprised

"He fancies everyone, Carl. He's hopeless..." Porter confirmed

"Ah, just don't start... being weird. I know you don't fancy him, 'cause you fancy someone whose name I shall mention not here... so... yeah." Carl was trying to hide Denise's feelings for him, as Jane walked passed at that moment. Denise sighed and walked over to Skully

"When have I ever let you down before, Carl?" Denise asked

"I don't know where to start Denise..." Carl sighed and Denise shook her head as she reached Skully. He was standing next to Porter's locker, tapping his Mario decorated drumsticks on one knee, humming out songs as he did so.

"So..." Denise started, reluctantly "written any good songs recently Skully?" Skully looked confused

"I don't write the songs, that's Meph and Gigz's department. When have you been interested in the band anyway, you don't... fancy me do you?" Skully was grinning cheesily, and Denise rolled her eyes

"Maybe..." Denise said in a romantic tone. Carl and Porter were sniggering behind her. She glanced behind her and gave them both an angry stare and the two boys both gave her a thumbs up each, laughing as they did so. Denise turned back round and started smiling at the large drummer again. Skully grinned back and Denise sighed.

"Umm... Skully, how about I do a date with you if... you drop out of your mascot status for a bit, sound good?" Denise was starting to be weird, thought Skully... but then who cares, he was going on a date!

"Sounds good, lemme just..." Skully did his rock star hands and his name disappeared from the "New Mascots" poster on the wall. Carl and Porter were still laughing, but they realised this. Porter nodded and Denise backed away from Skully, Skully was grinning as he turned and walked back down the corridors.

"That is something I never want to do again..." Denise had her head in her hands and was shaking it furiously. Carl put his hand on her shoulder.

"Well, you got the drummer out of the way. Who shall we take next?" Denise lifted her head out of her hands and looked Carl in the eye. Porter tapped them both on the shoulder.

"Guys, leave the flirting till later. Rubix is on the move." the AIT was serious and Carl and Denise looked at him

"Porter, how can you tell that? Angel tracking sensors? Just sense?" Carl looked puzzled and Denise was smiling

"No, Carl, he just... sort of walked round the corner..." Denise started to walk after the bassist as did Porter, but he turned back and spoke to his fake cousin

"I like your thinking though... Mr. Senses..." Porter chuckled and continued to walk away, Carl following along behind the two angels...

Rubix continued through the hallways, his bass guitar strapped to his back. He was in a hurry, the three students realised, so something must be up. Carl, Porter and Denise followed close behind him, determined to stop TAB's plan.

"Right, if we get rid of Rubix, we get rid of a main part of the band. This is gonna be a lot harder than Skully. He's not as easily tricked." Denise informed her friends and they both nodded.

"Ok, so how are we gonna get rid of him?" Carl asked and Denise grinned.

"He's having trouble with his guitar tuning, Carl, you're in a pretty cool band aren't you?" Denise asked, shuffling from foot to foot

"Who told you about them?" Carl looked confused and Denise blushed

"No-one... I just... found out, somehow... I guess..." Carl shook his head and smiled

"You're even worse at hiding feelings than me, and that's saying something. But, I get your point, I'll go over there and give him some advice." Carl started to walk over to Rubix but Porter stopped him.

"Denise, you haven't thought this through very well, have you? Don't you think Rubix will get suspicious if Carl, a human who hasn't known Rubix until today, suddenly asks him about his tuning? Maybe I should ask him. It would be a lot less suspicious." Porter suggested and the other two agreed. Porter put on his best smile and walked over to Rubix

"Hey, MC, I hear you've been having some problem with tuning your guitar, am I right?" Porter started and Rubix raised an eyebrow

"Yep, that's right. But how did you know about that, man?" Rubix looked puzzled and Porter just shrugged

"Word gets around man, but that's a change from you usually. Tuning is usually... what's the word?"

"Pimps." Rubix finished his sentence "But, yeah, it's this new song. Meph was very intense about it, you know, due to that my tuning has been off by miles. You know anything about tuning Porter?"

"Duh, I learnt to tune ages ago, man." Porter lied "Give us your guitar and I'll see what I can do about it." Rubix kissed his guitar and handed it over to Porter. Porter gave him a thumbs up and ran back over to Carl and Denise when Rubix's back was turned.

"Right, shall we tune this thing then?" Porter asked and Denise slapped herself

"No, the idea was to get hold of his guitar, and then break it. Rubix is completely broke... he won't be able to buy another guitar and that means?" Denise asked no-one in particular.

"If he doesn't have a guitar he'll be kicked out of the band... meaning he won't be able to be a mascot. If he still wants to be in the band, he's gonna have to miss the triathlon in order to fix the guitar. That's brilliant, Denise!" Carl grinned and Denise smiled.

"Right, that guitar's magic, so only magic can break it. Me and Porter will take it upstairs and get rid of it somehow." Denise told Carl

"Keep an eye or two on Rubix, we need to be able to give him the guitar OK?" Porter added and Carl nodded

"Shouldn't be a problem, good luck guys." Carl said to his friends and the two angels were gone in a flash of light. Rubix started to walk down the corridors and Carl followed after him. He couldn't lose him now...


	6. Chapter 6

De-motivation

Chapter 6, Taking care of TAB part 2

Rubix trudged down the corridors, Carl following after him closely. Porter and Denise were counting on him to keep track of the bassist. If he got away now... Carl didn't know what exactly would happen but... Rubix stopped outside one of the maths classrooms and seemed to be talking to Jane. Actually Jane was talking to Rubix, quite a lot it seemed. Carl snuck up behind the two, still trying to keep himself hidden. Rubix was telling the redhead about himself, the band and his guitar. Particularly his guitar.

"So yeah, that guitar is special. If anything happened to it... I'd be out of the band for sure..." Rubix looked concerned and Carl grinned. If all things went to plan then it would be one less member of TAB to worry about. There was a sharp whistle from along the corridors. Carl turned around and saw a busted up guitar in the hallway. Carl nodded his head and smiled.

"Ok, thanks for your time, Rubix. This is gonna make a great article!" Jane seemed happy and Rubix smiled at her

"Yeah, well anything I can do to help. I guess..." He murmured as Jane walked away. Rubix sighed deeply, but stopped as Carl approached him.

"Rubix... I... I'm so sorry..." Carl was faking tears and Rubix raised an eyebrow, quizzically

"Why are you sorry, man? You ain't done nothing, have you?" Carl sniffed and handed Rubix the broken guitar. Rubix's jaw dropped to the floor.

"Samantha! What happened to her?" Rubix was starting to cry and Carl looked at him, as sympathetically as possible.

"Turns out... there wasn't a problem with your tuning... it was the whole guitar falling apart... Porter only found out until recently..." Carl acted, and Rubix snarled.

"Whatever your planning, Montclaire... well it's worked. I won't be able to stay in the band without a guitar... I'm gonna have to fix Samantha..." Rubix growled and Carl smiled

"So that means..." Rubix rolled his eyes

"I'm off my mascot status... yeah, well done..." Rubix did his rock star hands and his name disappeared from the poster. Rubix turned on his heal and strutted down the corridors, his average sized trousers slowing his movement. Carl grinned as Porter and Denise beamed down next to him.

"Good job guys. Though it took a lot longer than I would have hoped..." Carl looked puzzled and Porter looked shifty "Porter?" Carl folded his armed and Porter laughed, sheepishly

"Our magic wasn't strong enough to break Rubix's guitar so we... umm... I dunno how to tell you this but... we sorta, broke yours instead..." Porter grinned, Denise laughed and Carl fumed.

"Wha? What the? Urgh!" Carl started to walk down the corridors, the AIT's following along behind.

Meph sat with his feet on the science desk, twiddling his thumbs. Gigz was asleep in a chair opposite him. Mr. Dolby was allowing them to use one of his classrooms as a prep room. It was nice, but it wasn't up to the standard the angels were used to. Suddenly a red face Skully burst through the door, the colour all gone from his hair.

"What the hell have you done to your hair man?" Meph demanded of the drummer and Skully rubbed his head.

"Never mind, man. Look I'm not gonna be here to run, dude, sorry..." Skully looked sheepish and Meph sighed.

"Fine, just... take your name off the list, we'll be able to figure something out, I'm sure."

"You seem relaxed about this, Meph..." Skully looked worried and Meph just shook his head

"In fairness, Skully, I know you didn't wanna compete anyway. You're not really built for athletics. But I want your hair back to normal by tomorrow, Ok?" The singer laughed and Skully saluted

"You got it sir." He grinned and charged down the corridor.

"Gigz." Meph said simply and the guitarist opened his eyes.

"'Sup?" Gigz replied and Meph face palmed.

"Don't do that ever again. Just deduce him, yeah?" Gigz nodded smiling, and pushed his glasses up his nose

"I thought you were never gonna ask... Right lets review the facts first. Skully played with us on stage, wasn't quitting the triathlon, normal posture, hair everything. Now suddenly he's changed his hair, and he's wearing a suit." Gigz started, but Meph interrupted

"A suit? What?" Gigz sighed

"Tie and white shirt tucked in clear view underneath his T-shirt. I would assume his jacket isn't being worn as it's too obvious. Now... His hair looks smart, all colouring gone from it. He's clean shaven, that's a first, and his strangely got a comb over, why?" Gigz asked his brother, Meph shrugged

"Trying to impress?" The singer suggested and Gigz smiled

"Correct." It was at this point the guitarist stood up "But he never tries to impress anyone, unless it's a special occasion or someone close to him. Now, no special occasions to date. It's someone close to him, that means, anyone in mind?"

"Me? I'm his best friend, and he might have done that to... I dunno, let him off about getting out of the triathlon." Gigz nodded

"Good thinking, but no. That's too simple, and Skully knows you don't like it when he does stuff to his hair, so why would he do anything to it if he were trying to impress you? It's someone else, probably someone he's known for a while, and he's trying to impress which means it's probably a girl." Meph was shaking his head in amazement

"How did you know that, from just his hair?" Gigz sighed

"Simple. It wasn't just his hair, I mentioned his posture did I not? His hands are shaking, especially when he went to give that salute. He seems unusually cheerful and he's stammering between words. Nervous, probably. Nervous that he'll mess something up, which means he's probably going out on a date. However, you know Skully, he couldn't win over his mum to let him go to the cinema, yet alone win over a woman's heart. Which means... the woman asked him out. And it's gotta be someone he's known for a while, because people have to know Skully in order to find him remotely attractive." Meph chuckled at this comment and Gigz looked cross "Excuse me, trying to have a clever moment here!"

"Sorry, sorry..." Meph said sarcastically and Gigz got back to his deductions

"And the only person in this school he's known for a while, and is a girl, is someone he sees on a regular basis, aka, another angel. Denise Simmons, obviously. He's getting off the triathlon team to go on a date. Also, his stomach was larger than usual. Probably hiding flowers, chocolates, or some romantic gift. Date, Denise, dinner. Done." Gigz fell back in his chair, and was quickly asleep again. Meph's head shook frantically

"How does he know so much?" He thought aloud

"Because I consider everything." Gigz spoke, his eyes still shut. It was at this point the door opened again...

Denise caught up with Carl quicker than Porter, Porter has stopped to get something out of his locker apparently.

"Carl, sorry about your guitar and everything... I told Porter not to do that..." Carl turned round and looked at the angel.

"Was it Porter's idea... really?" Carl asked and Denise shrugged

"Maybe. Maybe not. Look, I'll get you a new guitar Ok?" she seemed to be regretting smashing his guitar up, Carl thought, he just smiled at her

"That won't make it up to me..." He sighed and Denise looked down at the floor, then Carl grinned "But a date might..." Denise looked up at him, smiling.

"That would make me feel... good too I guess." Carl hugged the angel and Denise smiled, her eyes shut. How lucky was she, she thought. Porter walked up to the two of them and shook his head.

"Guys... this is REALLY not the time." His two friends broke the hug and stared at him.

"Sorry." They both said at the same time. Porter groaned. This relationship was getting stronger, but it could never work.

"We need to stop Gigz and Meph, and we need to stop them quickly. Any ideas, Denise?" Porter asked and Denise shrugged.

"Gigz never gave away much... and he was very insistent that Meph didn't either. Sorry guys, I'm clueless."

"Not your fault..." Carl muttered and Porter face palmed.

"Carl, stop hiding your feelings, we all know you like Denise, OK?" Porter was sounded annoyed and Carl laughed

"Heh, I guess. Look, lets just start off by finding them, that might help us along. Any ideas where they are?" Denise nodded at Carl

"Yeah, Mr. Dolby said something about them using one of his classrooms. Be careful though guys, remember." They all nodded and began to walk toward the science classrooms...

Rubix barged into the classroom, arms folded, afro bobbing up and down as he walked.

"Guys, I need to quit. Just for today anyways." Meph shot him a glare.

"Come on, MC, we need you here dude! Triathlon!" Meph was fuming and Rubix just groaned

"No can do, M. Need to take some personal time off. Family matters to me, you know..." Rubix wiped a tear from his eye and walked out of the room. Gigz opened one eye as he left.

"Right, lets consider. Walking as if in a bad mood, yet wiping a tear away, suggest crying. Upset and angry, bad emotions for an angel, so it must be something important, yes?" Gigz asked, rhetorically

"I guess so." Meph was nodding and Gigz was already starting to talk

"Now, something important. Rubix cares very little for his family. He's never really had one so it makes it difficult to care. Saying a lie like... family matters, means that he's not really thinking, mind clouded with other things. Twiddling his fingers, and there was something wrapped round them."

"Really, I didn't see that?" Meph asked and Gigz smirked

"You don't see much with your un-interested eyes, bro. But it was easy to miss, after all the string was clear."

"String? String isn't clear..." Meph looked confused and Gigz groaned, rolling his eyes

"Not unless its a certain type of string, true. Guitar strings, to be precise. And there's something strange about him wrapping guitar strings round his finger, because?" Gigz asked and Meph nodded

"He only has one set..." Gigz rose from his seat, and did his rock star hands. He was suddenly wearing a clean, brown trench coat and a suit. Meph shook his head. His detective skills were still with him.

"Correct, brother. One set that he never takes off his guitar, not even to tune. Meaning that something has happened, like he says, but nothing to do with his family. It's far more important, to him at least." Gigz paused for effect

"I do hate it when you do that whole... pausing for effect hoo-ha..." Meph smiled and Gigz did too.

"Anyway, his clothing. Same as normal, unlike Skully, but his pockets. Large, something was in them. And it must of been something large to make them bulge because Rubix can carry a whole load of tat in his pockets and still not be found out. Something large... something large..." Gigz was slapping his head with both hands, still pacing the room, trench coat out behind him. Meph folded his arms and Gigz suddenly clicked his fingers

"Got it. Something big and the stings off his finger, Rubix never takes the strings off the guitar, so that means that he didn't take them off the guitar. Someone else did... or maybe it was the guitar the took them off..." Meph unfolded his arms and sighed

"Explain..." He groaned and Gigz grinned

"It's simple when you think about it. The guitar took off the strings because it couldn't hold them. Simply because it wasn't possible TO hold them. They wouldn't fit, wrong shape."

"The guitar was the wrong shape?" Meph was shaking his head, furiously, and he only did that when he didn't understand, Gigz smiled

"At that point yes. Having something big enough to make his pockets bulge and the strings not fitting the wrongly shaped guitar, add the two together. You get broken guitar. Rubix has to leave because he will get kicked out otherwise. And he'd only give the guitar to someone he trusts. An angel. Spotting the pattern?"

"Denise Simmons again?" Meph asked and Gigz nodded

"It's possible. Though Rubix has never liked Denise much. And the only other angel is Porter Jackson. He gave the guitar to him and they destroyed it."

"Wait... they couldn't." This time it was Gigz who looked confused "That guitar's enchanted. Enchanted with graduation magic. That was the first thing Rubix did when he graduated, enchanted that guitar. Graduation magic is the strongest form of magic possible. No AIT could break that. That wasn't his guitar... it was someone else's... friend of Porter's probably..." Gigz was nodding, understanding the logic of his brother

"Very good. Even I didn't think of that. Friend of Porter, owns a guitar? Only one I can think of is that fake cousin of his. Our performance was dedicated to one Carl Montclaire. Remember... Denise told us he plays the guitar, she fancies him, she told us everything..." Gigz was pacing again

"Yeah yeah, I remember..." Meph didn't

"He plays the guitar, it's not enchanted, they smashed his up instead. Job done, good job bro. " Gigz slumped back in the chair and was quickly asleep. Meph brushed his hair away. He knew what Denise, Carl and Porter were up to. He wasn't going to let the same thing happen to him...


	7. Chapter 7

De motivation

Chapter 7, Start of something... unhelpful

Meph slapped Gigz round the face and Gigz shook himself awake.

"Come on man, I was having a snooze!" Gigz looked frustrated and Meph just groaned

"It's not really the time, bro. The AIT's and Carl will be here soon. We need to get to somewhere a bit safer..." Gigz nodded, knowingly

"Upstairs?" He suggested and Meph grinned. The two high-fived and they were soon standing against white backdrops.

"Right, Carl won't be able to get up here... lets think... Porter and Denise, how are we gonna avoid them?" Meph asked pacing and Gigz smiled

"Stealth mode. That should throw them for a while..." The brothers high fived again and disappeared into the background.

Carl barged into the last science classroom in Bennet High... nothing. He turned round and looked confused. Porter looked at Denise, questioningly.

"You sure they were in the science classroom, yeah?" He asked and Denise nodded

"Sure of it... well, that's what principal Malone said anyway..." Carl groaned.

"They've moved then. But where would they go?" Porter was thinking, he knew TAB well and he knew one member in particular.

"Oh, what a smart little... they're upstairs!" The AIT suddenly shouted and his friends just stared at him

"You know that, how?" Carl asked his "cousin" and Porter smiled

"It's Gigz. Meph doesn't run the band, he's not smart enough to manage. Gigz does everything behind the scenes and he's smart too. He go somewhere he couldn't be tracked... upstairs." Denise nodded.

"Sorry, Carl. You're gonna have to sit this one out. If you went upstairs... I hate to think what would happen to you..." Carl just smiled at Denise.

"Don't worry, I've got double maths to cope with. Oh, and just remembered. You can't go either, can you, Denise." Porter was laughing

"What? Why not?" Denise appeared to not remember but was suddenly reminded by the large drummer of TAB bashing into her.

"Hey, Den. Ready for the date of a lifetime?" Skully grinned and Porter couldn't help but snigger. Denise shot him a glare and Carl put his hand on the AIT's shoulder. He whispered to her.

"Just remember, we've got a date this evening. That will be the date of a lifetime, but just sit and bear Skully, ok?" Carl gave Denise a quick kiss, quick enough that the drummer couldn't see. Denise blushed and Skully saw this as affection for him.

"Aww, blushing over me, huh? Don't worry, I'll make this a date of you'll never forget, my dear." Carl and Porter both laughed as Denise and Skully beamed away.

"That... was one of the funniest things I have ever seen in my life..." Porter sniggered and Carl grinned.

"Good luck finding them, Porter." Porter grinned at Carl

"When have I ever failed before, Carl?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Carl smirked and Porter nodded. In a flash of light he was gone, standing against the white backdrop that was heaven...

Denise sat across the table from Skully in mama B's, rolling her eyes as the drummer straightened his tie. Skully was beaming, stupidly and Denise was already regretting this idea.

"So... tell me about yourself..." Denise started making chit chat and Skully beamed even broader

"Well, I'm in a band, yeah. There's something you probably didn't know about me!" Denise face palmed, this was gonna be a long evening

"Anything else?" Denise asked, sarcastically

"Umm... I can't really think of anything. What about you, can you think of anything?" Skully asked and Denise groaned. A really long evening.

"Well, no, but why don't I tell you a little bit about myself. I like to sing and I..." Skully shook his head

"I already know that, you're supposed to fill me in about stuff that I don't know, don't you know that? That's so cute!" Skully grinned and Denise growled, menacingly.

"How long are you planning on making this date last, Skully?" Denise asked, in her sweetest tone.

"Umm... I dunno, triathlon starts in 5. Probably... date will last about 20 minutes..." Skully looked pleased with his mathematics but Denise just looked shocked.

"The triathlon starts in 5 minutes?" She asked, worried suddenly

"Yeah, so what? What's a triathlon gotta do with our date?" Skully looked confused and Denise just smiled at him, sheepishly

"Nothing. Nothing at all... it's not our date that I'm worried about though..." Denise muttered. Carl was going to have to run in 5 minutes and if Porter didn't stop Gigz and Meph, she didn't know what would happen.

"Come on, Porter. Do it for Carl..." Denise said quietly, quietly enough that Skully didn't hear. He didn't seem to notice much, Denise thought.

"Skully... I'm just gonna go and... clean myself up a bit... I'll be back in a sec, ok?" Denise smiled and Skully shrugged

"Whatever... hey waiter, over here man! Large pepperoni for me please and an extra large coke. Thank you!" Skully demanded of the waiter as Denise beamed away.

Porter looked frantically around, trying to spot the two band members.

"Wait... trying to throw me off... stealth mode! Of course!" Porter nodded and instantly saw the two angels, huddling under Gigz's strange trench coat.

"Right, you guys are gonna get it!" Porter yelled. Meph beamed away just in time but Gigz was not so lucky. He was shoved to the floor by the AIT, hands pinned behind his back in seconds. Porter nodded and the two re-appeared in the eyes of Denise.

"Denise, go and get the angel court. This guy needs some serious telling off." Porter smirked and Denise nodded.

"You got it, see ya in a sec Porter." Denise clicked her fingers and away she went

"They won't arrest me you know..." Gigz chuckled "They can't, or don't you remember?" Porter remembered all too well. Gigz was part of the APF. The angel police force. It was impossible to arrest him, as he was an officer himself.

"Maybe not arrested." It was Dr. Cassabi, standing behind Porter and the guitarist with the whole angel court and Denise. "But suspension from earth is definitely possible. If you would care to accompany us to the courtroom, we can sort something nice and quick for you." Gigz smiled.

"Clever, Jackson... very clever..." The guitarist grinned and Denise looked at her watch as he was dragged away.

"The triathlon's starting. My poor Carl is running with a magic wielding goth! How's he gonna win?" Porter grinned, arms folded

"Your Carl?" He chuckled and Denise twiddled her hair with one hand, clicking her fingers with the other.

Skully folded his arms, checking his arm constantly. He didn't have a watch, but it made him look intellectual apparently. Skully stood, and walked out of the door. That date was a waste of time. He left with his feelings for Denise completely gone... Denise beamed up and sat next to Carl on the gym bench. He was wearing his sports kit and was twiddling his thumbs nervously, sweating too. Denise placed one hand on his shoulder.

"You'll do fine you know, its only Meph competing." Denise tried to comfort him, but Carl shook his head

"Why are they doing this anyway... things never go right for me..." Carl looked down at the floor and Denise smiled, sympathetically. Carl spoke softly. "Well... maybe one thing went right..." He smiled

"What?" Denise asked

"You. You're still here for me aren't you?" Carl grinned and Denise blushed. The two moved in to kiss each other but were interrupted by Porter beaming in next to them.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything, lovebirds. Triathlon's starting, Carl, you need to be up on the start line." Carl nodded and Denise just grinned at him

"You'll do fine. I'll be in the crowds cheering you."

"Loudest one there?" Carl asked and Denise smiled

"Loudest one there, for definite." The brunette grinned and Carl trudged out of the changing rooms. Porter sat down next to Denise.

"You really like him don't you?" Porter asked and Denise looked upset

"Yeah, but it can't exactly... go anywhere can it. Things never go right for me..." Porter folded his arms.

"You've got a date tonight. And I think you can start referring to him as your boyfriend now. I know you've been considering calling him that for a while. Just remember, play it cool. Get close to him, yeah?" Porter suggested and Denise shook her head

"Sorry, but how can you be giving me advice about Carl?" Denise asked and Porter grinned.

"When you share a house with him, you sort of get used to what he wants. He's been planning this date with you for a while now. He REALLY likes you, Denise. Your lucky, this is the first time this sort of thing has ever happened. Anyway, I'm off, gotta start cheering. Lungs are warmed up, see ya Den." Porter smiled and nodded. He was gone, in a flash of light.

"Wow... that... was deep..." Denise laughed. She clicked her fingers and stood next to Porter in the crowds. Standing behind them was Gigz, his arms folded. Gigz stood in a white suit, obviously getting ready for his trial. His trench coat was wrapped round his shoulders. Porter shrugged at him

"Look, man I'm sorry about what I did... I need to help Carl out all I can..." Porter apologised and Gigz shook his head

"Doesn't matter. This trial isn't gonna be won. After all... there are no witnesses as we haven't done what we're gonna do yet... this is wrong, Porter. You and Denise need to stop Meph, no matter what... yeah?" Gigz did his rock star hands and his Mohawk disappeared, being replaced with slick black hair.

"So that's what you really look like..." Porter smiled "Don't worry, we'll stop him, Gigz." Gigz did his rock star hands again and was gone quickly...


	8. Chapter 8

De-motivation

Chapter 8, Win for me: Part. 1

Carl jogged on the spot on the start line. He was nervous, really nervous. Serge stood in front of him as did Oscar, Brian and Jed from Terendale. The Terendale tiger was standing there too, his permanent grin looking more smug than ever. Alex, the last runner for Bennet, stood grinning. And then there was Meph. He wore a long black leather jacket, reaching his ankles. A black cowboy hat was perched on his head.

"Good luck, Carl." Meph said, sarcastically. The starting gun sounded and Serge took an early lead, closely followed by Brian. The Terendale Tiger followed after them, Oscar and Jed in hot pursuit of their mascot. Alex was just behind Jed and Meph was just drawing ahead of Carl.

"Carl's not gonna win is he?" Denise looked worried

"It will only help boost his popularity... it was a stupid idea..." Porter shuffled from foot to foot.

"Well... I'm still gonna cheer him. COME ON CARL! WIN IT FOR ME!" Denise suddenly yelled and Porter covered his ears

"YEAH, COME ON COUSIN! YOU CAN DO THIS!" This time it was Porter's turn to cheer. Carl grinned. He was lucky to have friends like them. This seemed to spur Carl on, and he passed Alex quickly

"Come on Carl, you can win!" Alex cheered and Carl shook his head. Surely Alex would want to win too, he thought. Then again, it was Alex. Carl spurred on again when Denise started whooping. Jed fell behind the Bennet student, as did the Terendale Tiger. Porter nodded his head quickly and Carl suddenly had more stamina. This allowed him to pass Oscar, who groaned as he passed. Denise let out a sharp whistle, but Carl tripped. He fell flat on his face in the mud and all those he had passed passed him... Denise cringed at Carl's pain.

"My poor Carl..." Denise muttered and Porter shook his head again. Carl shook himself up and kept running. Meph sprinted past Brian, and ended up level with Serge.

"You're going down, Sergey!" Meph shouted and did his rock star hands behind his back. Serge suddenly felt a pain in his leg, he slowed down and Meph passed him too

"I'm gonna be the most popular kid here after this. I'll be a legend!" Meph grinned to himself and reached the swimming leg of his trip...

Denise clicked her fingers and Carl found the pain gone from his chest. He kept running, going at a steady pace. He passed Serge, who Carl had just seen clutch his leg. Serge kept running, but Carl was too far ahead of him for him to catch up. Carl dived into the water and swam as fast as he good, spotting the leather jacket floating on the top of the water. Denise and Porter ran to the side of the pool and saw him swimming across, catching up with Meph.

"He looks cute when he swims..." Denise muttered to herself and Porter folded his arms, raising one eyebrow.

"Cute... when he swims?" He laughed and Denise shot him a glare.

"Hmph. Like you would understand how I feel..." She grunted and went back to watching Carl. Meph clambered out of the water, Carl scrambling out afterward. A 3 mile running straight met their eyes. Meph smirked and ran at all his strength. Carl started to run, but a stitch hit him in the gut. Serge had just dived into the water, swimming with all his strength. Carl breathed deeply has he reached the half a mile mark. Only another 5 of those to go he thought. Then sighed. He was never gonna win. He started to run slower, coming to almost a stand still. Serge passed him.

"Thanks for letting me win, Montclaire. I appreciate it!" Serge grinned and started to catch up with Meph.

"Why has he stopped?" Porter asked himself.

"Oh no... I think... he may have given up, already..." Denise answered and Porter face palmed

"Come on Carl... reach inside yourself!" Porter shouted and Denise grinned.

"See you in a bit, Porter, I'm just gonna go for a run... and a swim and a cycle..." She clicked her fingers and beamed away, Porter groaned.

"Not again..." He muttered and kept watching Carl. The Terendale Tiger drew level with the last runner for Bennet High. He stopped opposite him.

"You puffed out too?" Carl asked

"Nope. Just came to wish my boyfriend good luck." It was a voice Carl recognised... Denise he smiled. Carl lifted the head off the tiger as everyone else ran past.

"Hey Denise." Carl smiled.

"Look... just win for me... please..." Denise pleaded, sweetly and Carl grinned

"See you tonight, missy." Carl grinned and kissed her, running as fast as he could, soon regaining his original position. Behind Serge and Meph. Denise clicked again and, once more, stood next to Porter.

"Well... at least he's moving now." Porter laughed and saw Denise blushing. He shook his head "He didn't kiss you again did he?" He groaned and Denise chuckled

"Ahh... maybe... maybe not... yes?" She stammered out and Porter sighed.

"I'll say it again, Denise. Good luck with your date. I think I know where Carl's taking you too..." Porter nodded, knowingly and Denise faced him.

"Where? Where? Tell me!" She ordered and Porter raised his hands.

"I surrender. There's this romantic ballroom, just opened near Mama. B's. Carl's reserved some spots for the 2 of you. Those tickets must have cost him... hmm... 60 dollars... each, probably." Denise's eyes widened

"He's done all that... for me?" Denise couldn't believe it, Porter just shrugged

"Like I said, he likes you... a lot..." Porter moved down the track, keeping an eye on Carl as he moved...

Carl sprinted along beside Serge, catching up with Meph, his black hair streaking out behind him. The Terendale Tiger didn't really know what he was doing suddenly, and had to drop out of the competition. Alex had dropped out too, due to an allergic reaction to grass. Jed and Oscar were catching up with the leaders, as was Brian, in front of his Terendale counter parts.

"Keep moving, guys! We need to get ahead... of Montclaire..." panted Brian as Oscar collapsed to the ground, now out of the race.

"Damn you Oscar!" Jed yelled, catching up with Brian. The two Terendale runners ploughed on, catching up with Serge.

"Don't think that you can beat Serge! Serge doesn't get beat!" Serge grinned, jogging on, almost level with Meph. Carl put on a burst of speed, growing level with the Bennet mascot. Meph's long black hair stretch out behind him, slapping Jed in the face, knocking him on to the ground. Jed was now out of the competition, leaving only four runners...

1. Meph

2. Carl

3. Serge

4. Brian


	9. Chapter 9

De-motivation

Chapter 9, Win for me: part 2

Meph sprinted along out in front, reaching the 1.5 mile mark. He kept breathing, his breaths becoming more and more frequent as he struggled for breath. Meph wasn't exactly built for running. He was more of a cyclist. That was the part he was going to win at.

"Just keep moving..." Meph muttered to himself "Just keep moving..." Serge pulled up alongside his mascot, grinning wildly

"Serge is gonna own you, man." Serge grinned "This is what Serge is built for!" Serge laughed and sprinted past his mascot. Brian and Carl were neck and neck, fighting for third. Brian snarled at the Bennet student.

"You... are... going... down... my... friend..." Blurted out Brian, stepping on Carl's foot. Carl grunted in pain. He couldn't let Denise down... or his school either.

"Oh really..." Carl panted "See... I... have friends backing me up... They believe in me..."

"Then they're insane! Look at you! You couldn't win this! Just give up now!" Denise heard Brian yell these words and snarled. She couldn't take anyone saying this sort of rubbish about her boyfriend. She went to click her fingers but a hand grabbed hers.

"Denise. You can't go around enchanting people like that." Porter shook his head at her. "Carl's gotta win this on his own now. We've given him as much help as possible." This time it was Denise's turn to shake her head

"No! How can people tell Carl to give up! Look at him! He's trying so hard!" Denise shouted at her male counter-part.

"Look." Porter said simply "What's it gonna achieve apart from a lot of noise from upstairs?" Denise sighed

"I guess..." The brunette groaned "Let's just... sit back and watch..."

Carl pushed on, despite the taunts from Brian. He couldn't let anything stop him from winning this thing. He dashed past the Terendale runner in a surprise burst of speed and Brian opened his mouth in shock

"But... but my taunts always work!" Brian yelled in anguish. He dropped to his knees "I've lost my touch! NOOOOOOO!" Yelled Brian at nothing. All the watchers raised one eyebrow, laughing at the idiocy that they witnessed.

"What the heck?" Porter asked himself, chuckling. Brian stood back up, coughing for effect. He then started running again.

1. Meph

2. Serge

3. Carl

4. Brian

Meph and Serge battled for 1st, each one constantly pulling ahead of the other. In the distance they spotted something. Bikes. Lined up against each other were bikes. Serge put on a burst of speed, overtaking the gothic mascot.

"Oh, you're not getting over me that easily!" Grinned Meph and sprinted alongside the jock, reaching the 2 mile mark. Carl and Brian still fought, just reaching the 1.75 mile mark, only a few inches behind the two leaders.

"What was all that... about taunts?" Carl asked the Terendale runner

"I'm not the pride and joy of Terendale. I win triathlons by putting the other racers down. Me, Jed and Oscar are a three man unit. We work on emotions and get runners to drop, so we can win events and prizes for our school. It's a brilliant idea!" Brian informed Carl, panting in between words

"Yeah... well it didn't work, did it?" Carl said, sarcastically

"That's... why I'm worried... I... can't win without my homies..." Muttered Brian and Carl shook his head. While the Terendale student had been lamenting, Carl had caught up with Serge and Meph. Meph hopped on a black bike, and started riding like a pro. Serge jumped on a blue one opposite him and the two were soon level again. Carl reached the bikes and wheeled one out.

"Guess I'll have to do it with pink." Carl muttered to himself, hopping on the bright pink bike

"Wow!" Brittany grinned "That pink goes so well against Carl's black shorts. I have got to try that colour combination out. OMG, how haven't I realised that before!" The blonde walked off to the changing rooms, typing in a message on her phone, obviously about the new "greatest fashion combo". The two angels shook their heads.

"This is getting weirder and weirder..." Denise chuckled. Brian reached the bikes a while later, grabbing a red bicycle and riding to catch up with the others.

1. Meph/Serge

2. Carl

3. Brian

The finish line was in reach... to Meph and Serge.

"Come on, Meph! Serge says give up!" Serge shot this insult at Meph

"Hmph. Think you can win? Give me a break, Serge!" Meph shot back

"Hey! Serge does the insulting around here!"

"Not anymore he doesn't mate!"

"Serge says shut up! Serge doesn't like listening to you talk!"

"Come on! Everybody likes hearing my voice... not so sure about yours though..."

"Listen, Meph. This isn't an argument you can win, mascot boy!" Serge grinned, riding flat out now, hands off the breaks

"Maybe not this one... but I can definitely win the triathlon!" Meph smirked. Serge crashed headfirst into a tree, bruised to the bone, rubbing his head. "Meph says, tough luck..." Meph grinned again and kept peddling along

1. Meph

2. Carl

3. Brian

Brian drew up alongside Carl on his red bike, the colours clashing, sunlight glaring off the mirrors.

"You're going down, Montclaire!" Shouted Brian, leaning forward in his seat, hands gripping the handle bars so tight his fingers turned white.

"Down this road faster than you perhaps... aside from that, I dunno..." Carl laughed and Brian bristled

"I do the cheap insults around here! And what the hell does that even mean?" Brian looked confused

"What's your IQ?" Carl asked, chuckling

"I don't owe you anything! I've never even met you before... that is what an IQ is, right?" Brian looked puzzled and Carl grinned again. Brian opened his mouth wide as he saw Serge stuck in a bush.

"Wow! Serge is stuck in a bush!" Yelled Brian, pointing out the obvious, loud crashing echoing all around him

"Yeah..." Carl laughed "And so are you... idiot..." Carl pushed harder on the pedals, going with all his might, catching up with his mascot

"Come on Carl... come on..." Denise muttered under her breath, crossing her fingers. Porter noticed this and nodded.

"Yeah... come on Carl..." Porter was wishing too, Carl was so close.

1. Meph/Carl

"Give up Montclaire!" Meph yelled "You're against the best of the best! You can't win!" The goth yelled at Carl, his hair streaming out behind him. He was sweating bullets, sweat coming in rivulets down his face. Carl was suffering from the same thing, his whole body ached, and he was boiling hot. The sun beating down on his back didn't help either

"This... is for... you..." Carl muttered, and put all his energy into one last frantic peddle. He dashed past the goth. Everyone in the stands let out a cheer as Carl Montclaire past the Bennet Mascot and finished in first place. Meph gnashed his teeth together, furious at his defeat.

"No... how... how could I have lost..." Meph stuttered, collapsing off the bike and falling on to the hard ground, his hair in streaks down his back. Carl looked over at the sorry sight. He walked over to the angel and placed a hand on his shoulder

"Everyone's a winner..." Carl grinned and Meph raised his head up.

"Not to me... I'm the only winner... you can't be..." Meph grimaced

"What are you talking about?" Carl looked puzzled

"I have to... win... everything... I... can't lose... not... now..." Carl raised one eyebrow

"I still don't..." Meph shoved Carl's hand off his shoulder

"I'll explain everything... but... it will... have to be some... other time... good luck... with... Denise... friend..." Meph panted, and plodded away, throwing his hat to the ground. Carl walked over to the hat, decorated with small skulls. He stared at it... letters were appearing. Carl leant down and read them. They were small... it was hard. But it said something like:

"This isn't the end. I'll see you again... tonight... if things go to plan..." Carl picked the hat up and walked over to Denise. He hugged her and she smiled at him

"Well. At least you won." Denise chuckled

"See you tonight, Denise. Be ready... something's gonna happen tonight..." Carl smiled, stroking her cheek. He walked away, knowing exactly what music would be blaring at the new ballroom...


	10. Chapter 10

De-motivation

Last Chapter: This had better be good date

Carl held Denise's hand as they walked into the new ballroom. A disco ball was hanging from the ceiling, a large buffet table at the side of the room, a batch of chairs at the other side. Denise opened her mouth and Carl grinned

"This is awesome!" Denise exclaimed and Carl was just nodding

"I was hoping you'd say that... now, would you treat me to a dance?" Carl grinned, bowing elegantly. Denise face-palmed, grinning all the while.

"Why of course, fine sir." Denise laughed, and the two walked into the dance floor.

"Wait... isn't that?" Carl asked himself as he saw many people he did not expect to be in this room at all. Porter, Jane, Alex, Serge, and a load more students from Bennet were dancing around.

"And this isn't ballroom music... we're in a disco aren't we?" Denise was shaking her head

"Ah... slight error there..." Carl grinned sheepishly "Really, Denise, I'm so sorry! I must of got it muddled... I really fail, don't I?" Carl looked down at the floor and Denise stopped shaking her head. She looked at her boyfriend, smiling

"What are you talking about? We can still have a good time! Oh and I think the band's about to... wait... oh no... not them!" Denise yelled, as she saw a group of people walking up the stairs. A gothic singer, a trench coat clad guitarist, a lumbering drummer and a smug bassist. TAB.

"Thank you all for coming! We are TAB!" Meph shouted and a loud applause echoed out. Gigz spoke next.

"Now, we're gonna give you two songs. Rubix, please enlighten this fine audience as to what they will be!" Gigz yelled to the bassist, who simply pushed his sunglasses up his nose.

"The first..." Rubix paused and Skully did a small drum roll "Is just a disco song for all of you!" Rubix finished and the crowd cheered.

"And the second..." Skully did his drum roll again "Goes out to a fine young couple. Yes, you know who you are!" Rubix yelled and Carl grinned at Denise. Denise opened and closed her mouth.

"They're gonna sing for us?" Denise looked shocked

"Yep. We're gonna sing for you!" Meph shouted. "But first... lets get this party underway shall we, friends!" The whole dance floor erupted into applause as Gigz started to strum his guitar.

"This is the rock and roll remix of... oh, you'll see!" Meph yelled as the bassist and the drummer joined in giving a smooth beat.

"Party rock is in the house tonight. Everybody just have a good time. And we gonna make you lose your mind. Everybody just have a good time." The dancers started... well dancing and cheering and the beat started picking up

"Party rock is in the house tonight! Everybody just have a good time! And we can make you lose your mind! We just wanna see ya..." The whole band chimed in this time

"Shake that!" They yelled into their mics and started playing a sweet solo. The audience started cheering. A tall, pale skinned man detached himself from the audience. A large, red eye was painted on his forehead. Carl stared at him. Something was different about him... but who cared, he had a song to dance to! Rubix started rapping on the mic

"In the club! Party rock! Looking for your girl? She's with the jock. Non stop when we're in the spot. Booty moving weight like she on the block. Where's the drink? I gots to know, tight jeans, tattoo 'cause I'm rock and roll. Half black, half white, domino, game the money. Op-a-doe!" Rubix finished and Meph started singing again.. well half singing half rapping

"Yeah! I'm running through the halls like I'm Drano. I've got that devilish flow, rock 'n' roll, no halo. We party rock! Yeah, that's my crew that I'm repping, on the rise to the top. No lead in our zeppelin! " They all started singing the chorus again and this time the audience chimed in as well.

"Party rock is in the house tonight! Everybody just have a good time! And we can make you lose your mind! Everybody just have a good time!" The repeated again except with a different end. "Party rock is in the house tonight! Everybody just have a good time! And we can make you lose your mind! We just wanna see ya..."

"Shake that!" Sung the audience and then Gigz simply sang

"Every day I'm shuffling!" An instrumental followed with Gigz putting in a quick "Shuffling!" Every few seconds. Rubix started to rap again, and every one groaned

"Step up fast... and be the first girl to make me blow this cash. We get money, don't be mad. Now stop... hating is bad." The whole band started singing again

"One more shot for us! Another round! Please fill up my cup! Don't mess around! We just wanna see, you shake it now! Now you wanna be, you're naked now!" The whole audience started singing with inspiration from the band

"Party rock is in the house tonight. Everybody just have a good time! And we can make you lose your mind! Everybody just have a good, good, good time!" The band stopped and the audience went wild. Carl walked over to Porter.

"Hey, Carl. How's Denise? Enjoying herself?" Porter asked, grinning his usual casual grin.

"Yeah, she's fine. Porter?" Carl asked his friend

"Hmmm..." Porter replied, waiting for Carl to continue

"Who's that... guy over there?" Carl pointed the strange pale guy from earlier.

"He's TAB's manager." Porter answered

"TAB have a manager?" Carl looked quizzical

"Yes. His name's Shockwave, but everyone calls him Shock-Drop upstairs. Dunno why, it was just a name he got put to." Porter was staring at Shock-Drop all the while. Carl stared at him too and got a good look at what he looked like. He looked older than the band. He was tall, like Meph, and had long, dark hair. A little unshaven beard was on the only facial hair he contained. He had amber eyes, and a sly smile played on his lips. He wore a grey, heavy looking jacket and jeans. He wore a T-shirt that read "Be afraid of the dark.". The strangest thing about him was that red eye painted on his forehead. It seemed to serve no purpose other than to make him look cooler. He sat with his hands resting in his lap and was watching something intently. Carl followed his eyes and smiled. He was watching Jane. The angel apparently had a bit of a thing for the red-head.

"I'm gonna go get acquainted with Mr. Manager." Carl nodded at Porter and Porter nodded back.

"Ok, I'll go tell Denise where you are. She should be Ok with that." Porter smiled and Carl sat down next to Shock-Drop

"Yes?" Asked the manager, gruffly

"Name's Carl Montclaire." Carl extended his hand "Nice to meet ya!" Shock-Drop just stared at him, his red eye creeping Carl out a little

"The Shock-Drop. Thought judging by the look on your face... you already know that." Shock-Drop replied, swivelling back round in his chair, staring at Jane again

"Your band's doing great, man. You should be proud." Carl smiled and Shock-Drop glared at him

"I have no interest in such trivial drivel." Shock-Drop snapped, angrily. Carl stared at his arm. Something was happening to it... a small cannon popped out of no-where startling the Bennet student so much he fell out of his chair.

"Woah... what's with the cannon dude?" Carl asked from his position on the floor

"Reminiscent of time's gone by. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have important business to do." Shock-Drop pulled his grey jacket up around himself and slumped in the chair.

"Charming..." Carl muttered to himself as he walked away.

"Carl..." Denise smiled at him and Carl grinned back

"Yeah?" He asked her and Denise simply pointed to the stage. Meph was tossing his mic from hand to hand, nodding his head.

"Guys. This is our last song for tonight." The singer shrugged and the audience all let out an:

"Awwwwwww..."

"But... we have one last song, as I just said. So... without further ado... introducing Rubix on the sax!" Meph yelled and the audience cheered at the old bassist "We sing to you... Hey Cupid, a song written to represent... Carl Montclaire and his date Denise Simmons!" Meph yelled

"Hit it!" Skully yelled from the back of the stage and started playing his drums. Gigz joined in with his guitar. Rubix started playing the main tune on his sax. Denise grinned at her date. This was the best time of her life.

"I never knew that I could feel like this, yeah my heart is like a warm sunshine.

I got your sunlight beating down on me, from the corners of your perfect smile.

So if you feel like your love ain't strong enough, I could be the one to steer it up.

Like a beat I'll drop and knock it up...

'Cause when I saw you... I knew!

My heart turned upside down, it took a spin around.

'Cause the girl I found, she got me off the ground.

And I'm wrapped around her finger like a diamond ring, yeah.

Cupid let me get her, 'cause she makes me sing!

Upside down, it took a spin around.

'Cause the girl I found, she got me off the ground.

And I'm wrapped around her finger like a diamond ring, yeah.

Cupid let me get her, 'cause she makes me sing, yeah!"

Meph sang, the band backing him up with beats along the way. Jane turned and saw Carl and Denise kissing.

"Wow..." She smiled to herself as Meph started the next verse

"I could never stand back

And make you feel... lonely, lonely, lonely!

And if you're ever feeling down I can be beside you,

put your trust on me!

So if you feel like your love ain't strong enough, I could be the one to steer it up.

Like a beat I'll drop and knock it up...

'Cause when I saw you... I knew!

My heart turned upside down, it took a spin around.

'Cause the girl I found, she got me off the ground.

And I'm wrapped around her finger like a diamond ring, yeah.

Cupid let me get her, 'cause she makes me sing!

Upside down, it took a spin around.

'Cause the girl I found, she got me off the ground.

And I'm wrapped around her finger like a diamond ring, yeah.

Cupid let me get her, 'cause she makes me sing, yeah!"

"This is the best date... ever..." Denise smiled at her new boyfriend. Carl grinned at her.

"Meh, I guess..." He smiled and the two kissed again. Meph nodded as Skully started drumming out a steady beat.

"Hey Cupid, come along and wash away all the rain

Put the sunlight and love in her heart just for me.

I've been acting like I should.

You know, I been good. She's all I think about all day!

Hey Cupid, can't you see she's the one, that's enough

Not a minute goes by when I don't think about it.

So please, hook me up!

Don't put my heart on ice, don't let me roll the dice

I need her sure thing right now.

My heart turned upside down, it took a spin around.

'Cause the girl I found, she got me off the ground.

And I'm wrapped around her finger like a diamond ring, yeah.

Cupid let me get her, 'cause she makes me sing!

Upside down, it took a spin around.

'Cause the girl I found, she got me off the ground.

And I'm wrapped around her finger like a diamond ring, yeah.

Cupid let me get her, 'cause she makes me sing, yeah!" Meph finished. The audience were silent. Then the whole room erupted into applause.

"Thank you... we're TAB. Good night!" Meph and his band high fived and they vanished in a flash of light.

"Carl... thanks for a great evening." Denise grinned and the two kissed for the last time that night. They were together now... but what could happen next?

Well folks that's the end of De-motivation. Keep a look out for the sequel. The songs used were Party Rock anthem and Hey Cupid. A big thank you to Lord Shockwave for giving me the idea to use Hey Cupid and allowing me to use him in this fic. Thank you so much man!

Coming soon, De-motivation 2: Camp of Disaster


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